Saul Williams

Saul Williams is an acclaimed poet, musician and actor. The Trimark Pictures film Slam, which he co-wrote and starred in, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (1998), the Camera d’Or and the Audience Award for Best Picture at the Cannes Film Festival, and the World Distributors’ Award for Best Picture. He has also contributed to The New York Times, voiced Jean-Michel Basquiat in Downtown 81, and cut records with Rick Rubin and Trent Reznor. While being hailed for his writing and lyricism, Saul’s reputation is as a performer. He has performed in more than thirty countries and has been invited to share his work as a solo performer in such prestigious locations as the Sydney Opera House in Australia, The Louvre Museum, in France, The Market Theatre in South Africa, and the White House, in 2009, for Michelle Obama’s first “White House Poetry Jam.” He has spoken at more than 200 universities where his poetry has been added to the curriculum of dozens of creative writing programs and is increasingly taught on both high school and junior high school levels. Saul has taught poetry and performance workshops for youth and artists across the world and in 2008 joined the faculty of Stanford University as a guest professor for one semester where he was allowed to create his own course: The Muse, Musings, & Music. Saul’s published writings include his books S/HE (1999), ,said the shotgun to the head. (2003), and The Dead Emcee Scrolls (2006). He lives in New York. Visit his website at www.SaulWilliams.com.